EULOGY 


ON  THE  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF 


ANDREW  JACKSON, 


BY 


GEORGE  BARSTOW,  ESQ. 

AT  MANCHESTER,  N.  H.,  ON  THE  12TH  OF  JULY  1845. 


E  U  L  0  a  Y 


15723 

.„« 


ON  THE  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF 


AN  DREW  JACKS  ON, 

PRONOUNCED  BY 

GEORGE  BARSTOW,  ESQ., 

AT  AlANCHESTER,  N.  H.  ON  THE  12TH  OP  JULY,  1845. 


Manchester,  July  15,  1845. 
Sir: 

By  Vote  of  the  Committee  of  Arrange 
ments  for  paying  a  tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory 
of  Gen.  ANDREW  JACKSON,  I  am  directed  to  ex- 
lend  to  you  the  thanks  of  the  Committee  for  your  ex 
cellent  Eulogy .,  delivered  on  the  12th  inst.,  upon  the 
life  and  character  of  that  eminent  patriot,  and  to  ask 
of  you  a  copy  of  the  same  for  the  press. 
Yours,  respectfully, 

C.  E.  POTTER » 
for  the  Committee. 
To  GEORGE  BARSTOW,  ESQ. 


Manchester,  J\T.  H.,  July  ISth,  1845. 
Sir} 

I  am  induced,  by  your  flattering  request, 
to  place  the  Eulogy  at  your  disposal  and  am  very  truly 
yours. 

GEORGE  BARSTOW. 
To  C.  E.  POTTER,  ESQ. 


AMERICANS: — We  are  assembled  in  this  place  to 
pay  a  last,  mournful  tribute  to  the  most  remarkable 
man  of  the  age.  Andrew  Jackson,  victorious  in  so 
many  fields,  has  triumphed  over  the  last  enemy 
man.  The  orisons  of  millions  have  arisen  for  his  en 
trance  to  the  celestial  mansions,  and  we  are  met  to 
indulge  in  sweet  and  pleasant  remembrance  of  the 
man  whom  we  deplore.  With  funeral  dirge  and  sol 
emn  requiem  we  have  come  to  celebrate  the  obsequies 
of  departed  valor. 

How  shall  I  shadow  forth  the  grand  outlines  and 
great  proportions  of  such  a  character?  In  what  lan 
guage  can  the  story  of  such  a  life  be  told?  To  pre 
sent  him  truly,  he  must  appear  brave,  as  he  was  seen 
in  battle ;  determined,  as  he  was  found  in  council; 
serene,  as  he  adorned  society.  Yet  why  do  I  fear 
lest  the  eulogy  of  departed  worth  should  be  feebly 
spoken?  He  needs  no  eulogy  whose  panegyric  is  a 
nation's  tears.  No  storied  obelisk,  or  sculptured 
monument,  or  proud  eternal  pyramid  is  necessary  to 
perpetuate  his  fame.  His  noblest  monuments  are  the 


minds  where  his  own  principles  are  instilled  and  his 
own  example  implanted. 

It  is  written  that  he  was  the  youngest  child  of  Irish 
emigrants  of  Scottish  origin.  It  is  the  same  blood 
that  peopled  our  own  county  of  Hillsborough.  Not 
more  pure  is  it  found  by  Flodd  en-field  or  Bannock- 
burn  than  in  the  vales  between  our  hills.  It  is  the 
martyr  blood  of  Scotland, mingled  with  the  warm  cur 
rent  of  the  Irish  heart.  In  his  character  are  exhibited 
the  iron  resolution  of  Scotland  and  the  generous  ardor 
of  the  Emerald  Isle. 

In  the  woods  of  Carolina,  on  the  wild  banks  of  the 
Catawba,  in  the  Waxaw  setttlement,  he  was  born* 
and  there  he  was  nursed  to  freedom.  The  wilder 
ness  of  the  frontier  folds  in  its  bosom  an  infant  destin 
ed  to  be  the  leader  of  armies  and  the  representative 
of  an  age!  But  it  is  of  little  consequence  to  inquire 
what  particular  spot  may  have  been  the  birth  place 
of  such  a  man  as  Jackson.  No  matter  where  he  was 
born,  whose  fame  encircles  the  world,  nor  how  hum 
ble  were  the  first  days  of  one  whose  after  life  fills  the 
brightest  page  of  a  nation's  annals.  America  was  his 
birth  place,  and  his  renown  belongs  to  the  whole  land. 
How  strange  are  the  mutations  of  earthly  things! 
When  Jackson  was  a  child  in  Carolina,  the  Indians 
_  of  Georgia  and  all  the  roving  tribes  of  the  South,  pos- 
of  sessed  their  hunting  grounds  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi.  The  red  men  knew  not 
that  there  was  a  child  near  them,  idly  sporting  with 
the  flowers  and  tracking  with  tiny  feet  the  paths  of 
their  early  hunters,  before  whose  prowess  their  arrows 
would  all  be  broken  and  during  whose  life  their  coun 
cil-fires  would  go  out  and  their  war-cry  become  a  for 
gotten  sound  over  the  whole  land  eastward  of  the 
srreat  Father  of  Waters! 

When  he  was  a  boy,  his  talents  were  perceived, 
and  were  quickened  by  the  genial  warmth  of  a  mother's 
i —  They  promise  to  repay  the  pains  of  culture 


and  he  is  placed  at  school.  During  the  intervals  of 
study,  she  pours  into  his  delighted  ear  the  traditions  of 
their  father-land — tells  him  the  wrongs  of  his  father 
and  his  country,  and  fires  his  soul  with  the  love  of  lib 
erty  and  glory.  Ah,  how  many  of  us  are  forced  to 
icknowledge  that  if  we  have  a  lofty  purpose,  agener- 


Otis  impulse,  or  a  high    aspir.itiou,    uo    o\\<:   it  to  the 
watchful  pride  and  holy  ambition  of  a  parent. 

The  war  of  ihs  revolution  invad  -s  the  peaceful 
shades  of  the  academy.  'J  ho  buy  of  the  future  her- 
mitag?,  even  then  a  man  in  spirit,  feels  his  bosom 
throb  with  the  heart  of  a  soldier.  From  a  mother's 
lip  he  has  learned  to  love  liberty.  Can  he  fail  to  be 
found  on  the  .si  le  of  liberty?  -No.  Freedom  calls  out 
to  her  champion  and  in  a  moment  his  choice  is  fixed. 
His  books  are  thrown  aside,  and  with  his  musket  on 
his  shoulder  and  his  brother  by  his  side,  he  hastens  to 
the  American  standard.  By  the  fortune  of  war,  ever 
fickle  and  fearful,  they  are  both  prisoners  in  the  en 
emy's  camp.  A  British  otlicer,  who  had  trod  the 
battle  fields  of  Europe  without  feeling  humanity  cr 
regarding  the  laws  of  nations,  attempts  to  con  pel  his 
young  prisoners  to  acts  of  menial  service.  1  hey  assert 
tho  rights  of  war  and  appeal  to  the  honor  of  Lngland. 
For  this,  Robert,  the  elder,  is  struck  down  mortally 

hu 


actcnstic  .sagacity  he  selects  the  rising  Territory  of 
Tennessee  as  the  scene  of  his  future  abjcdc ;  and  iroiu 
that  time  his  name  is  identified  with  the  West. 

A  bright  professional  career  opens  before  him.  The 
illnstiious  \V  ashington,  ever  alive  to  the  promotion  of 
talent,  is  made  acquainted  wilh  the  n.an  in  all  the 
West  u.cst  lue  hiri.se.f,  ai.d  he  commissions  Andrew 
Jackson  as  an  Attorney  of  the  United  States. 

And  now  the  star  of  empire  takes  its  way  -westward. 
The  waves  of  emigratic-n  are  over-leaping  the  Alle- 
ghanies — pouring  down  their  sides — encirciing  the 
lakes — ascending  the  streams — over-spreading  the 
prairies.  'Ihe  reckless  and  roving,  lh.3  tumultuous 
and  daring  are  crowding  by  tens  of  thousands  to 
the  rivers  of  the  West.  Who  can  mould  these  vvi.d 
elements  into  the  edifice  of  Freedom?  Who  can  make 
them  subserve  a  nation's  interests?  Who  but  Jackson, 
the  greatest  of  the  emigrants — the  chief  of  the  pion 
eers?  He  can  construct  thl  fabric  of  society  out  of 


wounded  and  Andrew   receives  a  sword   cut   on 

arm.  Little  did  the  British  officer  imagine,  that  the  adventure  and  make  it  subservient  to  a  nation's  pro- 
boy  whom  he  had  so  cruelly  wounded,  was  destined  gress  and  power.  In  the  centre  of  the  W'est  he  will 
to  scatter  an  army  whose  iron  tramp  had  shaken  a  stand  like  the  master  builder  of  a  temple,  and  the  co- 
continent.  No  one  could  tell  that  an  intellect  slum-  ' '  -*— -* -"  ---  '  •  •  "-•  • 

bered  in  the  boy  of  the  Waxaw  settlement  which 
would  cause  the  name  of  Andrew  Jackson  to  be  in 
scribed  on  glory's  imperishable  tablet. 

Hi-;  mother  strives  with  ceaseless  effort  to  relieve 
the  prisoners.  Worn  down  by  fatigue  and  heart  bro 
ken  by  tho  death  of  her  elder  son,  she  soon  falls  a 
victim  to  her  sorrows  and  toils;  but  not  till  she  had 
written  upon  the  heart  of  her  surviving  warrior  a  les 
son  which  will  make  the  volume  of  his  own  life  a  leg 
acy  to  his  country  and  the  world.  The  war  closed. 
And  now  he  is  in  th*,-  world  without  a  near  relative — 
on  the  wide, wide  sea  of  life.  Gallant  young  sailor!— on 
life's  ocean — launching  thy  bark  alone.  Well  mavost 
thou  dare  tho  elements,  lor  shnuldst  thou  sink,  there  ii 
not  a  kindred  eye  to  see  thy  struggle,  or  a  fond  heart 
to  be  broken  by  thy  fall' 

Pleasure,  which  to  an  old  man  is  an  empty  sound, 
has  attractions  for  the  young,  and  to  tho  syren  voice 
of  that  charmer  ho  listened  till  he  had  wasted  his  scan 
ty  patrruony.  And  now  ho  is  left  destitute,  and  the 
chart  and  the  compass  of  life  seem  to  be  thrown  awa  v. 
But  is  thore  thou  no  guide?  Is  there  no  beacon  light 
visible  to  tho  mind's  eye?  Thanks  to  Memory,  the 
teachings  of  a  mothor  are  never  lost.  Amidst  the 
clamors  of  folly,  rn  the  mazes  of  pleasure,  a  still  small 
voica  comes  up  from  a  mother'.-'  grave,  :md  with  more 
than  earthly  eloquence  bids  us  ren:en,h'-r  that  such  an 
one  as  she  has  lived  and  died.  It  scr-ms  to  bo  a  liv 
ing  murmur  from  that  fountain  of  allertion  which  in 
life  is  not  made  bittor  evm  by  ingratitude  and  is  nev 
er  exhausted  by  forgiveness.  To  tho  melody  of  that 
voice  the  future  statesman  listens.  He  pauses  and 
reflects — he  resolves  and  his  .studies  are  resumed. 

In  1786  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  At  that  time 
the  country  was  recovering  from  the  shock  ef  the  rev 
olution.  Commerce,  industry  and  tho  arts  had  reviv 
ed.  Standing  solitary  and  alone,  innumerable  diffi 
culties  rising  around  him,  every  endearing  recollection 
of  hi«  native  state  blotted  out  by  the  death  of  all  his 
near  relatives,  the  intrepid  orphan  turns  his  eyes  to 
the  young  West.  There  he  beholds  a  theatre  wor 
thy  of  his  hopes  and  his  conscious  power.  Wi»h  char- 


materials  like  these.     He  will  direct  the  wild  spirit  of 


lussal  structure  will  rise  around  him  with  the  majestic 
proportions  of  his  own  character — with  the  massive 
strength  and  solid  grandeur  of  his  own  glory. 

W  hen  the  Indians  attack  the  settlements  he  is  once 
more  a  soldier.  How  quickly  the  forts  are  garrisoned 
and  the  enemy  repulsed.  Meanwhile  his  talents  have 
secured  him  a  distinguished  standing  with  all  classes, 
and  when  the  territory  is  ready  to  became  a  State  he 
is  chosen  a  member  of  the  convention  to  frame  a  con 
stitution.  On  that  instrument,  so  distinguished  by- 
sound  views  and  liberal  provisions,  the  broad  seal  oY 
his  character  is  stamped. 

Ho  had  now  become  more  widely  appreciated  and 
it  was  resolved  to  raise  him  to  the  highest  station 
Accordingly  he  was  elected  the  single  representative 
of  the  State  in  Congress  and  the  next  year  a  Senator 
of  the  United  States.  But  he  is  already  tired  of  office 
and  its  burdens  He  leaves  the  Senate  and  is  appoint 
ed  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State.  Still 
longing  for  retirement,  he  resigns  his  seat  on  the  bench 
and  bids  adieu  to  public  life.  Ihus  at  the  aae  nf 
forty-five,  we  find  him  relinquishing  those  distinctions 
which  youth  often  covets  and  to  which  manhood  i 
seldom  mdtllerent. 

That  he  might  be  where   the   cares  of  public  lift, 
could  not  intrude,  he  removes  a  few  miles  from  Nash 
yi  Ic  and  devotes  himself  to   the   life   of  " 

1  here,  on  the  beautiful   banks   of  the 
where  the  bine   ridges  of  the   Alleghanies 


There  he  will  retire  from 


e.st  station  in  the  world. 

jnd  there  will  tho  child  be  kd,  i Rafter 


"ather's 


There  his  ashes  will  repose" 
"~  ~fl~  "  y  the 


«* 


grave 


patriotism   while   beading  over  the  the 
Hermitage. 

^h4rZCrtei"platutherCtlremeDt  of  Ja, 
Wfcg  beauty  gather?  around  the  subject 


of 

of  the 


department  of  war;  "but  the  g 
aware  of  the  importance   of 


fectiou  and  Friendship — Nature  with  her  bloom  and 
beauty — Honor  with  its  dignity — Experience  with  its 
wisdom — all  attend  upon  the  scene  of  his  repose.  Yet 
it  is  a  hero  whom  we  contemplate,  and  one  who  can 
hear  the  call  of  his  country  in  the  deepest  solitudes  of 
nature. 

The  field  officers  of  his  division  have  elected  him  a 
general,  and  the  war  with  Great  Britain  rouses  him 
from  retirement.  The  President,  Madison,  to  meet 
the  exigencies  of  the  occasion,  issued  his  call  for  fifty 
thousand  volunteers.  General  Jackson  addressed  the 
citizens  of  his  division,  and  twenty-five  hundred  men 
flew  to  his  standard.  Putting  himself  at  their  head 
they  descend  the  Mississippi, like  its  own  deluge  of  wa 
ters — as  sudden,  as  overwhelming  and  as  sure.  This 
expedition  was  rendered  fruitless  by  orders  from  the 
pvernment  has  become 
importance 'of  his  services.  So  he  is 
commissioned  a  Major  General  in  theaimy  of  the  Un 
ion,  and  appointed  to  the  defence  of  the  South.  Ever 
victorious,  he  seems  to  be  led  by  the  hand  of  Destiny. 
Whenever  he  appears  waving  his  troops  forward  with 
his  avenging  sword,  he  seems  like  one  commissioned 
to  execute  the  will  of  Heaven.  When  mutiny  arrays 
his  own  soldiers  against  him,  he  confronts  them  alone 
and  with  a  single  musket  conquers  his  owa  troops,  that 
with  them  he  might  conquer  the  enemy. 

At  length  the  eighth  of  January  dawns.  Before 
him  are  the  pride  of  England  and  the  conquerors  of 
Europe.  You  know  how  they  were  formed  in  solid 
column  and  advanced — how  the  mists  of  the  valley 
rose  and  discovered  them  near — what  cheers  rent  the 
air — what  vollies  succeeded — vivid  as  lightning — in 
stantaneous  as  thunder — what  carnage  ensued — and 
how  the  pride  of  valor  and  the  flower  of  chivalry  re 
coiled  before  the  man  of  the  iron  will — the  injured 
boy  of  the  Waxaw  settlement.  With  that  day  the 
towering  hopes  of  the  enemy  fell  and  the  last  wave  of 
invasion  rolled  back  from  our  shores. 

I  shall  not  dwell  upon  New  Orleans.  It  is  a  brill 
iant  theme — it  is  a  household  word.  I  shall  hardly 
mention  the  campaigns  against  the  Creeks  and  Semin- 
oles,  although  it  was  in  these,  more  than  any  where 
else,  that  Jackson  displayed  the  qualities  of  a  gener 
al.  I  love  rather  to  trace  him  again  to  retirement— 
where  he  lives,  blessed  in  domestic  life  and  social  in 
tercourse — surrounded  by  friends — rich  in  a  nation's 
gratitude — venerated  by  all.  What  a  theme  for  med 
itation  will  his  own  deeds  afford  him !  By  his  prow 
ess  a  city  has  been  saved — Sedition'has  been  awed — 
Beauty  has  been  rescued,  and  Beauty,  with  express 
ive  sentiment,  has  strown  the  hero's  path  with  flowers. 
Woman,  ever  grateful  to  her  brave  deliverers,  and  in 


her  judgment  of  men  seldom  wrong — woman,  to  her 
praise  be  it  spoken-has  generally  rendered  justice  to  the 
saviour  of  New  Orleans.  Not  entangled  in  the  conflict 
of  parties,  she  has  been  able  in  her  quiet  sphere,  to 
look  away  from  the  prejudices  of  the  hour,  and  from  her 
heart  of  hearts  to  pay  a  spontaneous  tribute  of  praise. 
She  was  the  first  to  feel  a  new  security  in  his  appear 
ance  before  New  Orleans,  when  he  came,  amidst  de 
pression  and  gloom,  as  the  defender  of  the  South — a 
rainbow  of  promise,  arching  the  van  of  a  storm. 

Before  the  battle,  when  his  troops  were  defiling 
through  the  city,  a  crowd  of  the  daughters  of  France 
had  collected  on  the  quay,  am!  were  giving  vieht  to 


heir  distress  in  erie»>  and  tears.  He  called  upon  his 
lid-de-carnp,  Mr.  Livingston,  and  told  him  to  address 
hem  in  the  French  language.  "Say  to  them,"  said 
le,  "not  to  be  alarmed.  The  enemy  shall  never 
each  the  city."*  These  prophetic  words  coursed  the 
treets  like  electric  fire.  Sorrow  was  ended — despair 
vas  converted  into  confidence  and  hope.  All  men  felt 
— all  but  the  envious  acknowledged,  that  a  remark 
able  military  genius  had  been  displayed  in  the  cam- 
)aign  which  had  just  closed. 

But  the  war  is  over,  and  he  returns  to  his  own 
fields,  bringing  back,  with  fhe  olive  branch,  a  sword 
,vhich  was  drawn  only  for  defence  and  sheathed  only 
n  victory.  There,  in  the  midst  of  a  noble  and  flour- 
shing  state—pre-eminent  among  the  valiant,  he  stands 
ike  a  tower.  At  the  first  whisper  of  danger  the  eyes 
of  the  country  will  turn  to  him  and  wait  in  silent 
confidence  of  his  genius,  until  the  moment  of  action 
shall  again  arrive.  The  expected  time  is  not  long  de- 
ayed.  One  savage  tribe,  the  Seminoles,  less  injured 
3Ut  more  cruel  than  the  rest,  are  kindled  up  by  for 
eign  emissaries,  and  the  crisis  requires  a  genius  rapid 
and  creative — self-confident,  and  at  least  as  sagacious 
as  the  foe.  All  minds  are  turned  upon  Jackson.  The 
of  the  Hermitage  comes  forth  again,  like  a 
heaven-guided  agent  and  performs  the  mission  for  the 
country.  But  it  is  the  last  of  his  campaigns.  Just 
before  it  closes,  he  is  prostrated  by  a  climate  where 
disease  falls  with  the  dews,  and  it  is  thought  by  hia 
friends  that  the  hand  of  death  is  upon  him.  So  he  was 
placed  on  a  litter  and  hurried  back  towards  the  groves 
of  the  Hermitage.  Long  before  his  arrival,  Afiection 
meets  him  in  the  way.  A  wife — a  ministering  angel 
has  come  to  dispute  a  victory  with  the  king  of  terrors. 
It  is  the  energy  of  love  robbing  death  of  a  triumph.  . 

With  the  conquest  of  the  relentless  Seminoles,  the 
military  career  of  Jackson  closed.  He  now  looks 
around  upon  a  country  flourishing  beyond  example — 
at  peace  with  the  whole  world.  Ambition,  for  he 
had  an  honorable  ambition,  has  been  satisfied — fame 
is  secure ;  and  in  the  shades  of  retirement  he  will  pass 
the  evening  of  life.  He  will  not  be  tempted  forth  to 
those  fields  of  adventure  where  man  always  sees  the 
blossom  of  joy  but  never  reaps  the  fruit.  Withdrawn 
from  office  and  its  cares,  pleased  with  seclusion  and 
bound  to  it  by  a  thousand  endearments,  nothing  seems 
wanting  to  complete  that  happiness  which  is  often 
sought  but  seldom  found  on  the  mountain  tops  of  ex 
alted  station  and  in  the  perplexing  maze  of  public 
cares.  But  what  voice  is  that  which  calls  him  forth 
to  mingle  yet  again  in  the  stir  of  life?  It  is  the  voice 
of  Tennessee,  calling  her  favorite  son  to  the  public 
councils;  for  a  crisis  is  approaching  when  all  the  wise 
and  true  will  be  needed  to  grapple  with  the  giant  in 
terests  which  are  beginning  to  array  themselves  against 


Freedom.  It  is  soon  found  that  a  leader  is  required — 
one  who  will  personate  in  himself  the  masses  of  the 
country ;  and  from  the  floor  of  the  Senate  he  is  select 
ed  to  lead  a  contest  which  closed  with  his  election  to 
the  Presidency,  and  closed  the  life  of  his  wife.  Dur 
ing  the  long  strife  of  parties,  she  had  been  keenly  ex 
cited  by  the  constant  reproaches  which  were  so  freely 
bestowed,  and  had  exhibited  throughout  the  canvass 
an  unnatural  strength  and  vivacity.  But  when  victo- 

*  Cobbett's  Life  of  Jackson,  page  95. 


ry  declared  fur  the  side  which  she  thought  \\:M  right, 


the  golden  bowl  was  found  to  be  broken, 
siou  of  success  snapped  the  cords  of  life. 


The  revul- 
Sothe  vine 


falls  from  around  the  oak,  for  the  storm  which  the  oak 
withstood  has  withered  the  vine. 

She  was  buried  at  the  Hermitage.  And  long  after 
that,  when  the  hero  himself  drew  near  his  end  and  a 
friend  offered  to  give  him  kingly  burial,  away  from  her 
side,  you  know  his  beautiful  reply.  "I  cannot  per 
mit  my  remains  to  be  the  first  in  these  United  States 
to  be  deposited  in  a  sarcophagus  made  for  an  Empe 
ror  or  friend.  I  have  prepared  a  humble  depository 
for  my  mortal  body,  beside  that  wherein  lies  rny  be 
loved  wife;  where  without  any  pomp  or  parade,  1 
have  requested,  when  my  God  calls  me  to  sleep  \\ith 
my  fathers,  to  be  laid;  for  both  of  us  there  to  remain. 
until  the  last  trumpet  sounds  to  call  the  dead  to  judg 
ment  when  we,  I  hope  shall  rise  together, clothed  with 
that  heavenly  body  promised  to  all  who  believe  in  our 
glorious  Redeemer  who  died  for  us  that  we  might  live 
and  by  whose  atonement  I  hope  for  a  blessed  immortal 
ity."  In  no  way  could  personal  respect  be  more  cour 
teously  shown  than  in  the  oiler  which  had  been  made 
of  a  monarch's  tomb  to  the  Kx-Presideiit  of  a  Republic 
But  ah,  there  wag  a  spot,  clad  only  in  summer  verdur 
and  guarded  only  by  angels,  over  which  none  but  the 
moon  and  stars  keep  nightly  vigils,  yet  far  dearer  t< 
him  than  the  tomb  of  a  monarch  and  all  the  magnifi 
cence  of  a  monarch's  burial.  It  was  there  that  the 
hero  had  laid  down  what  he  most  loved  and  then 
he  wished  to  belaid,  ashes  to  ashes, dust  to  dust,  with 
the  object  of  youthful  attachment;  when;  no  storied 
uro,  or  sculptured  pile,  or  ever  burning  taper  might 
perpetuate  the  empty  pageantry  of  regal  power.  It  is 
not  the  statesman  or  the  ambitious  ruler  that  -peaks  in 
his  reply.  It  is  tha  man, — wishing  with  the  simplicity 
of  a  forest-child,  that  they  who  in  life  were  united,  in 
death  might  not  be  divided;  but  that  hearts  which 
had  participated  in  the  same  affections  and  \irtues. 
the  same  joys  and  sorrows,  mi«iht  share  the  same  re 
pose  and  awaken  together  to  the  same  immortality. 

When  we  turn  to  the  civil  career  of  Jackson,  a 
broad  field  is  opened  before  us.  It  was  an  adminis 
tration  full  of  violent  collisions  and  heated  controver 
sies.  All  felt  that  a  strong  hand  had  taken  hold  of  the 
management  of  affairs.  An  antagonist  a\-t>-m  \vas 
arrayed  in  opposition  from  the  beginin^;  and  though 
its  interests  were  powerfully  represented,  yet  when 
they  rushed  against  him,  they  were  met  by  an  iron 
will  that  could  no  mare  be  shaken  thrtn  tin;  pillars  of 
the  capitol.  As  well  might  the  breakers  roar  against  a 
castle  that  frowns  from  a  rock  over  a  temp'-stnous  M*. 
Unbending  integrity  watched  over  the,  nation's  inter 
ests.  Yet  his  wasaa  administration  calculated  to  eij- 
list  the  enthusiastic  support  of  friends  and  the  undy 
ing  hostility  of  foes.  It  made  n»  compromises.  It 
turned  not  aside  frem  the  fixed  lino  of  duty. 
that  was  clear,  Jackson  seemed  alike,  indiderent  to 
censure  and  praise.  To  all  foreign  nations  alike  he 
presented  that  simple  rule  of  his  own  "ask  nothiu"  tn(,  A 
that  is  not  clearly  right  and  submit  to  nothing  wrong."  I Of  tne 


state,  South  Carolina,  goaded  by  wrongs  that  made 
the  central  government  cease  to  be  a  blessing,  array 
ed  herself  against  the  union,  it  became  his  duty  to 
compel  submission.  But  the  chivalrous  Carolina.her- 
self  the  injured  party,  must  be  treated  with  the  high 
consideration  due  to  genius  and  patriotism.  She  is 
no  worthless  foe  to  be  trampled  on  with  indifference 
or  crushed  by  blind  force.  Although  the  President 
can  wield  against  a  dissenting  state  the  whole  force 
of  the  Union,  he  resorts  to  no  menace  until  Carolina 
has  had  a  full  hearing  before  the  country  and  the 
world.  And  after  the  country  has  pronounced  against 
her,  still  he  entreats  and  remonstrates. 

"There  is  yet  time,"  said  he  to  the  Carolinians, 
"there  is  yet  time  to  show  that  the  descendents  of  the 
Pinckneys,  the  Sumpters,  the  Rutledges,  and  the 
thousand  other  names  which  adorn  your  revolu 
tionary  history  will  not  abandon  that  Union,  to  support 
which  so  many  of  them  fought,  and  bled,  and  died.  I 
adjure  yon",  scid  he,  "as  you  honor  their  memory,  as 
you  love  the  cause  of  freedom,  to  which  they  dedicated 
their  lives,  as  you  prize  the  peace  of  your  country,  the 
lives  of  its  best  citizens,  and  your  own  fair  fame, "to  re 
trace  your  steps.  Snatch  from  the  archives  of  your 
Stale  the  disorganizing  edict  of  its  convention.  'Bid 
ils  members  to  reassemble  and  promulgate  the  decided 
expressions  of  your  will  to  remain  in  the  path  which 
can  alone  conduct  you  to  safety,  prosperity  and  honor. 
Tell  them  that,  compared  to  disunion,  all  other  evils  are 
light,  because  that  brings  with  it  an  accumulation  of  all. 
Declare  that  you  will  never  take  the  field  unless  the  star 
spangled  banner  of  your  country  shall  float  over  you — 
that  yon  will  not  be  stigmatized  when  dead, and  dishon- 
jred  and  scorned  while  you  live,  as  the  authors  of  the 
irst  attack  upon  the  constitution  of  your  country." 

Thus  the  President  entreats,  thus  he  clings  to 
:he  hope  of  reconciliation  to  the  last.  But  when  re- 
nonstrance  has  failed  and  argument  is  closed,  he 
rises  in  the  majesty  of  his  determined  purpose,  and 
vlnle  his  eye  flashes  unwonted  fire,  from  his  lips  drop 
hose  golden  words  "The  Federal  Union— it  must  be 
)rcserved."  Thp.  n»tmn<il  t>nL.<>  «v.-;ii<.  *„  *i i 


he  national  pulse  thrills  to  the  words; 
ind  Ihe  loud  chorus  ofa  nation's  approbation,  swelling 
from  the  whole  circumference  of  the  union,  pronoun- 
:es  with  final  judgment,—  "the  Union  must  be  preserv- 


I  cannot 


forbear  to  mention   one   other 


occasion 


which  is  familiar  to  all;  when,  menaced  on  every 
hand  by  opposition,  deserted  by  the  timid  and  waver 
ing,  every  act  of  his  public  life  misreresented  an 


motives  assailed,  he   stood    collected  in  himself 
'midst  turbulence'  and  disorder  and  threats  of  ruin' 
;e  a  motionless  rock  in  mid  ooean,that  rears  its  ma-' 
stic  head  above  the  waters  and  stands  unmoved  bv 
the  fury  of  the  storm.     Time   has   wromrht  n,,t 


problem  which  was  then   unsolved  and  the 


wrought  out  the 


.i       ;.      -  -  .  "«J*V-HVM   icdsun. 

fetters  of  antiquated  precedent   and 
tyranny  of  custom,  he  came  to  the  chair 

By  the  steady  presentment  of  this  grand  maxim  to  "the!  "J  "i™^  *??  the   bouild«»g  step  and   buoy- 

world,  long  arrears  of  claims  withheld  were  adjusted,  I  J°Jt  „»  ^S?6  of  fr?edoin's  son.     Jt  was  a  post  of 
and  in  every  instance  peace  was  preserved.  minds     Y^t   h'  ^en  ^ed   by  the 

In  his  internal  administration  of  the  government  the  courts,  full  of  ----     •'  •  ^     m  -c.an'Ps  more  than 
same  fixed  principle?  are  apparent.     When  his  native  ages  almost  ii 


which  would  make  him  known  in  the  oldest  courts  of 
Europe  as  the  first  of  American  statesmen.  This 
man, who  had  made  his  home  in  western  wilds, where 
the  rank  atmosphere  of  a  city  was  never  breathed  and 
the  din  of  commerce  was  never  heard,  was  to  point 
Industry  to  new  fields,  Trade  to  new  enterprises 
Commerce  to  a  career  which  would  freight  her  ships 
with  the  wealth  of  lands  yet  unexplored,  and  would 
cause  the  American  tar  to  repose  under  the  stripes 
and  stars  of  his  country,  in  every  sea,  with  a  security 
hitherto  unfelt  and  unknown.  This  man's  name  was 
to  become  a  fortress  to  the  friends  of  liberty  through 
out  the  world. 

The  science  of  legislation  is  not  always  taught  in 
schools.  In  sudden  emergencies,  when  strong  minds 
were  apalled  by  obstacles  which  Experience  had  nev 
er  seen  and  could  not  weigh,  his  native  judgment 
brought  forth  a  doctrine  of  universal  application. — 
Amidst  embarrassments  where  theory  was  confounded 
and  learning  could  furnish  no  rule  of  action,  his  com 
prehensive  rnind  developed  a  principle  always  in  ad 
vance  of  received  opinions,but  founded  in  reason  and 
always  leading  to  practical  and  satisfactory  results. 
When  a  complication  of  financial  dfficulties  envelop 
ed  his  friends  in  a  labyrinth  from  which  there  seemed 
to  be  no  escape,  and  all  were  groping  in  darkness,  he 
was  the  first  to  discover  a  thread  which  led  back  again 
to  the  light  of  day. 

It  was  not  when  sailing  on  summer  seas  that  his 
true  character  appeared.  But  when  winds  were 
loud  and  waves  rolled  high,  his  mastering  spirit  rose 
superior  to  the  elements,  curbed  their  wild  play  and 
produced  a  calm.  Never  did  his  eagle  eye  discover 
the  path  of  duty  so  clearly  as  when  clouds  were  gath 
ering  and  the  hearts  of  men  were  failing  them  for  fear. 
So  it  is  ever  with  true  greatness.  In  a  whirlwind 
where  weakness  is  swept  away,  the  fires  of  genius 
are  only  kindled  to  a  blaze. 

It  is  known  that  in  Indian  warfare  the  great  obsta 
cle  to  success  and  that  which  baffles  the  ablest  com 
manders  is  the  dih'culty  of  bringing  the  enemy  to  a  gene 
ral  battle.  His  sagacity  readily  overcame  this  difficulty. 
By  a  series  of  skilful  manoeuvres  he  induced  tha  Indians 
to  collect  their  forces  and  hazard  a  general  engage 
ment;  and  the  result  of  every  battle  in  which  he  was 
engaged  with  them  shewed  not  merely  the  superiority 
of  h;  white  rnanand  the  ability  of  the  commander,  but 
illustrated  the  power  of  Civilization  to  cope  success 
fully  with  Barbarism  and  brought  the  Indians  to  trace 
in  every  setting  sun  a  type  and  a  symbol  of  their 
doom. 

In  the  more  peaceful  fields  of  legislation  a  similar 
success  attended  him.  His  mind  was  tuned  in  per 
fect  harmony  with  American  intelligence  and  Amer 
ican  sentiment:  He  understood  the  wants  of  the 
country,  knew  the  feelings  of  the  people,  and  foresaw 
wh-it  would  be  their  ultimate  views  of  a  measure, 
which  in  its  present  operation,  appeared  to  be  in  con 
flict  with  their  interests.  Thus  with  a  calm  reliance 
on  the  people,  he  was  always  busy  with  some  great ! 
experiment,  always 

"From  present  evil  still  deducing  good." 
He  was  the  friend  of  industry,  the  friend  of  the  emi 
grant  and  the  settler,  the  unwavering  protector  of  the 
interests  of  Labor.     Long  will  the  faee  of  honest  Toil 
be  lighted  up  with  a   kindly  glow  at  the  mention  of) 


his  name  and  his  deeds  will  be  rehearsed  with  delight 
in  the  lowly  cabin  of  every  pioneer. 

Legislators!  who  have  seen  his  wisdom!  Vet 
erans!  who  have  fought  by  his  side!  peaceful  citi 
zens!  who  have  been  guarded  by  his  vigilance!  You 
can  all  attest  that  I  have  paid  no  undeserved  tribute 
to  his  memory.  And  thou,  wide-spreading  Com 
merce!  Arts!  that  flourish  in  the  shadow  of  peace! 
Agriculture!  with  flocks  upon  a  thousand  hills!  If  you 
could  speak  you  would  all  say  that  in  the  man  whom 
we  now  deplore,  you  have  lost  a  benefactor  and  a 
friend. 

But  what,  after  all,  was  the  chief  cause  of  his  un 
precedented  influence  over  the  public  mind?  It  was 
this.  The  people  believed  him  honest.  That  was 
the  secret  of  his  sway  over  public  opinion.  Thus  pop 
ularity,  the  most  fickle  of  all  the  possessions  of  great 
men,  was  to  him  as  steady  as  his  integriry, — as  uni 
form  as  the  purity  of  his  life.  But  I  will  not  consider 
his  public  measures  further  lest  I  should  trespass 
upon  the  proprieties  of  this  occasion.  Those  who 
differ  from  him  in  opinion  will  bear  me  witness  that 
his  motives  were  uniformly  right.  The  truly  great 
and  magnanimous  among  his  opponents  admit  the 
integrity  of  his  opinions  and  the  freedom  and  sincerity 
with  which  they  were  always  expressed.  But  it  is 
in  his  own  language  that  his  vindication  is  most  ap 
propriately  made.  He  had  been  accused  of  unhallow 
ed  ambition  arid  thus  made  answer  to  the  charge. 

"No  !  the  ambition  which  leads  me  on,  is  an  anxious 
desire  and  a  fixed  determination  to  restore  to  the  peo 
ple  unimpaired,  the  sacred  trust  confided  to  my  charge 
— to  persuade  my  countrymen  so  far  as  I  may,  that  it 
is  not  in  a  splendid  government  supported  by  power 
ful  monopolies  and  aristocratical  establishments  that 
they  will  find  happiness,  or  their  liberties  protection; 
but  in  a  plain  system,  void  of  pomp — protecting  all 
and  granting  favors  to  none — dispensing  its  blessings,, 
like  the  dews  of  heaven,  unseen  and  unfelt,  save  in 
the  freshness  and  beauty  they  contribute  to  produce. 
It  is  such  a  government  that  the  genius  of  our  people 
requires — such  an  one  only,  under  which  our  State* 
may  remain  for  ages  to  come,  united,  prosperous  and 
free.  If  the  Almighty  Being,  who  has  hitherto  sus 
tained  and  protected  rne,  will  but  vouchsafe  to  make- 
my  feeble  powers  instrumental  to  such  a  result,  I 
shall  anticipate,  with  pleasure,  the  place  to  be  assign 
ed  me  in  the  history  ot  my  country,  and  die  contented 
with  the  belief,  that  I  have  contributed,  in  some  small 
degree  to  increase  the  value  and  prolong  the  duration 
of  American  Liberty." 

Before  he  had  thus  vindicated  himself  he  was  elect- 
d  to  preside  over  the  Republic  for  a  second  term. 
For  eight  years  he  guided  the  ship  of  State — sounding 
all  the  depths  and  shoals  of  political  life  and  encounter 
ing  its  storms.  At  last  the  venerable  pilot  is  obliged  to 
seek  the  haven  of  rest.  He  comes  from  the  deep,the 
aged  mariner,  with  broken  health  and  decaying  frame 
like  the  wreck  of  a  once  gallant  ship,  which  floats  to- 
the  shore  with  riven  beams  and  shattered  sails,  to  drop 
down  piecemeal  and  perish  on  the  strand.  On  the 
occasion  of  his  departure  from  Washington,  two  skill 
ful  mechanics,  representatives  of  the  industry  of  the 
land,  desiring  to  testify  their  admiration,constructed  a 
carriage  from  the  timbers  of  the  ship  Constitution,  the 
"Iron-sides,"  of  the  war,  and  brought  it  to  the  Lx- 


as  a  git'  i  that  in  this  h  •  might  I-.; 

conveyed  to  the  hermitage.  What  mure  fitting  con 
veyance  could  be  offered  to  bear  the  wreck  of  an  old 
soldier  to  his  last  rest. 

Just  before  waving  adieu  at  the  Capital  he  publish 
ed  h'n  farewell  address  to  the  country.  You  remem 
ber  the  clo-iinir  passage — 

"Mv  own  race  is  nearlv  run.     Advanced 


age 


and 


upon  the  face  of  an  old  man— a  mortal?  lurn  yum 
eyes  to  the  enchanting  picture  of  Liberty,  and  kmdie 
into  rapture  while  you  gaze.  Then  turn  to  your  sub 
jects  and  break  the  yoke  of  oppression.  Compare 
your  unequal  and  complex  systems  with  the  simple 
and  fair  government  of  the  Republic.  Dare  to  be 
just.  Take  off  the  shackles  of  ancient  bondage;  for 
I  would  rather  be  in  a  shepherd's  cot  where  Lib 
erty  and  God  reside,  than  adorn  a  palace  with  marble 
courts  where  the  mind  is  in  chains. 

The  incident  which  I  have  just  mentioned  brings 
me  to  the  death  bed  of  General  Jackson.  A  few 
days  before  his  last,  his  symptoms  grew  more  alarm 
ing  and  it  was  apparent  that  his  dissolution  was  near 
athand.  The  lamp  of  life  began  to  glimmer  in  its 
socket.  Yet  his  intellect  remained  unclouded.  He 
knew  that  death  was  near  and  could  see  distinctly  the 
filing  sands  of  his  last  hour.  Finally,  on  the  eighth 
of  June,  at  the  close  of  a  summer's  sabbath  day,  fit 
emblem  of  his  life's  calm  close,  about  the  hour  of  six, 
when  the  sun  was  nearing  the  gates  of  the  west,  the 
hero  passed  away — like  that  sun, 
the  glittering  dews  of  morning 


failing"  health  warn  me  that  before  long,  I  must  pass 
beyond  the  reach  of  human  events  and   cease  to  feel 
•issitudes  of  human  affairs.     I  thank  God    that 
my  lit'.-  has  b  -en  sp  -nt  in  a  land  of  liberty,  and  that 
h::  has  giv.Mi  me  a  h  -art  to  love  my  country  with  the 
affection  of  a  son.     Filled  with  gratitude  for  your  con- 
Mid  unwavering  kindness  1    bid    you  a  laat   and 

Farewell." 

Thus  the  chiefii.ui  departed.  His  work  is  finished, 
his  errand  is  dor, e.  lie  returns  once  more  to  the 
sanctuary  of  the  hermitage — 

i~[>;i'i.l  out  life's  taper  to  tho  close, 
the  flame  from  wasting  as  it  £<><•?•" 

,vn  great  arm  grows  weak,  he  leans 
upon  an  almighty  arm ;  and  we  soon  learn  that  his  last 

re.  to  be  dignified,  and  his  last  hours  consoled  with  majestic  and  gradual  progressed  sunk  gently  be- 
and  illumined  by  a  ( 'hristian  hope.  No  one  can  deny  hind  the  hills,  bathing  the  skies  in  a  flood  of  rosy  light, 
that  true  piety  is  the  highest  ornament  of  human  na-  as  he  departed,  and  flinging  a  mellow  radiance  over 
ture.  liehold  then  a  chief  with  silver  hairs — onewho'all  the  fields. 

'f  battle  and  who  bears  the  scars  ofj  Such  was  the  last  hour  of  Jackson.  From  the 
battle*  upon  his  p-rson,  kneclinc  at  the  throne  of  the  commencement  of  his  second  presidential  term,  every 
.Most  High.  Sublime  speetaclef  The  leader  of  armies  thing  which  he  did  and  said  seemed  to  be  in  the  near 
iod  of  armies!  The  captain  of  thousands  prospect  of  another  world.  And  when  at  last  the 

i       „•  -\r  _     ...U.-  •          1-11 


which   arose  over 
its  meridian 


acknowledges  the  captain  of  our  salvation.  Ye,  who 
deride  the  virtue  of  the  masses!  ye,  who  say  that  the 
people  are  given  to  the  worship  of  idols!  confess  that 
they  have  presented  one  leader  who  was  both  a 
patriot  and  a  rhri-tian.  If  our  country  had  produced 
but  one  such  man,  she  would  have  contributed  her  full 
sh.ire  to  those  national  treasures  of  which  history  may 
be  proud. 

While    he   yet  lingers    in    the    sequestered  shades 
of  the     hermitag-,     a     foreign    king,    learning     that 


hour  came  in  which  he  was  to  close  his  eyes  on  a 
country  which  his  valor  had  defended  and  his  wisdom 
preserved,  in  the  dread  moment  of  final  dissolution, 
not  a  word  escaped  him  which  would  be  unbecoming 
a  wise  man  to  utter,  not  a  sentiment  was  expressed 
which  will  not  be  of  solid  advantage  to  Christianity. 

Rest,  gallant  soldier!  no  less  adorned  by  civic  vir 
tues  than  by  victory's  laurels.  Rest,  matchless  man! 
There  was  no  other  one  like  thee.  Full  of  years  and 
full  of  honors,  thou  art  gathered,  ripe — in  thy  season. 


the  evening   shadows  of  his    life  have  begun  to   tall,  Rest,  Christian   warrior!     In  thy   faith   we   believe 
commissions  one  of  our  favorite  artists*  to  procure  his  that  thou  bust  gone  to  rest,  like  th 
portrait.     It  is    tho    kiirj  of   France,    the    oldest   the 


.and  most  powerful  of  European  monarchs. 
Jii<i  before  dr-ath  elm  -d  th  •  scene,  the  painting  was 
complete.  It  will  be  carried  to  the  old  world, perhaps 
to  hang  side  bv  sid,-  with  ih  •  "man  of  destiny,"  and 
with  \«y  th  ;  "bravest  of  the  hrr.v<>"— a  proud  speci 


the  setting  sun,  with 


the  sure  promise  of  a  glorious  rising  and  a  heavenly 
day,  and  not  like  a  light,  which,  kindled  by  less 
than  an  almighty  mind,is  lostin  a  night  that  kncws 
no  dawning, — in  a  grave  on  whose  gloomy  portal  the 
light  of  hope  never  shines. 

It  was  the  f.tith  of  Jackson  that  the  soul  of  man  is 


menof  the  arts  of  our  country  and  a  faithful  likeness  of  j  immortal,   that   the   body   may    perish  but  the    in- 
him  who  raised  that  country  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  tellcct  survives — that  the  soul    lives  in  eternal   youth 


earthly  glory.  On  tin-  lineaments  of  that  noble  face 
kiu^s  and  potentates  will  z  17."  in  long  siicc'-s^ion,  per- 
haps  for  ages  to  come.  'I  he  itOIJ  of  his  lif:  will  grow 
familiar  to  them,  and  with  it  our  history,  and  if  they 


and  endless  progress.  To  his  capacious  mind  the 
harmony  of  the  spheres,  the  stars  in  their  courses 
and  the  order  of  the  seasons  were  so  many  evidences 
of  a  creative  hand.  A  Divinity  seemed  to  stir  within 


can  find  nothing  in  our  free  institutions  and  principles  him  the  ennobling  sentiment  of  the  soul's  immortality, 
of  civil  liberty  to  venerate  and  admin-,  tl..-\  will  rev-  H«  believed  it,  not  because  Cicero  had  spoken  it,  not 
erence  America  because  it  is  tlv  land  of  .1  ur'tson.  [because  Plato  and  Socrates  taught  it,  but  because  a 
It  will  be  no  small  praise  to  American  art,  if  this  greater  than  Socrates,  the  Eternal  had  written  it. 


painting  is  thought  worthy  to  adorn  the  same  gallery 
where  the  heaven-guided  pencil  of  David  has  drawn 
the  face  of  Napoleon  in  colors  that  almost  make  the 


He   regarded   Christianity  as  the  greatest  boon   of 
Heaven  to   the   pilgrims  of  a   day.     When  his  eye 


grew  dim, he  traveled  by  its  light.     When  his  strength 

canvass  breathe  and  the  walls  to  seem  instinct  with  failed  he  labored  in  its 'hope.  And  when  his  work 
life.  If  the  silent  face  of  our  hero  could  speak  there,  was  finished,  when  he  had  done  all  that  he  could  for 
would  it  not  say,  Princes  and  rulers!  W  hy  look  ye  his  country  and  mankind,in  full  confidence  of  a  better 

life  the  illustrious  soldier  departed.     Consoled  by  his 
exalting  tfnth,  we  will  believe  that  the  riling  orb 


*Heal«v. 


which  hu=;  sot  in  our  sky  ou!)  hastens  to  another  morn-  :  forgot  lo  pay  homage  to  the  Mo:,t  High.     Washing- 
ing  and  rises  in  the  horizon  of  a  higher  sphere.  ton  moved  through  life  with  the  high  consciousness  of 

A  morion na      nnr  ahip'fl   iti     wrir    mir  {Tinnf*  in 


Americans,  our  shield  in    war,  our  guide  in   peace 
is  no  more.     Jackson  is  gone,  but  his  memory  lives, 
our  hearts.     It  lives — in  the 
.-Inch  he  has  left  to  our  coun- 


It  lives — embalmed 

long  train  of  b!essin« 

try.       It    can   never   die — never   until  man   forgets 

his    benefactors    and    ceases    to     bestow    applause 

upon  virtue.    Time,  in  removing  him  farther  from  our 

view,  will  only  increase  the  lustre  of  his  fame,  as  the 


future  accountability — Jackson  was  sustained  in  death 
by  the  lively  hope  of  a  glorious  immortality.  Hu 
mility  was  the  constant  ornament  of  Washington,  and 
there  is  no  appearance  of  ostentation  in  the  whole  ca 
reer  of  Jackson.  It  was  the  fortune  of  Washington  to 
lay  the  foundations  of  our  Temple  of  Liberty.  It  was 
the  fortune  of  Jackson  to  stand  like  the  angel  at 


gate  of  Paradise  and   guard   the   entrance   with   his 

sun  shines  with  a  growing  effulgence  at  his  setting  and  |  flaming  sword.     Washington  was  the  father  —  Jack- 
shews  his  broadest  circumference  when  his  fires  begin  j  son  the  saviour  of  his  country.     Both  lived  like  patri 


to  tinge  the  mountain  top  that  is  to  hide  him  from  our 
view. 

Shall  I  open  the  volume  of  history  and  compare 
Jackson  with  the  heroes  of  past  ages?  Shall  I  say 
that  he  resembled  Epaminondas,  in  unsullied  patriot 
ism — Hannibal,  in  vigor — Caesar,  in  rapidity  of  thought 
and  power  of  combination?  Shall  I  say  that  he  was 
like  the  good  Aurelius  in  private  virtue,  and  Cincin- 
natus  in  the  love  of  retirement?  No,  I  will  not  com 
pare  him  with  the  heroes  of  the  past.  But  there  is 
a  name — one  immortal  name — one  hallowed  name, 
that  furnishes  a  parallel.  I  would  blend  the  re 
nown  of  Jackson  with  the  mild  glory  of  Washington. 
Of  each  it  may  be  said,  he  lives  but  once  in  an  age. 
Each  had 

"A  combination  and  a  form,  indeed, 
Where  every  god  did  seem  to  act  his  seal, 
To  give  the  world  assurance  of  a  man." 

Washington,  with  Spartan  virtue,  resigned  a  victori 
ous  sword  and  retired  from  a  triumph.  Jackson,  with 
Roman  firmness,  met  the  assaults  of  corruption,  struck 
dismay  to  the  heart  of  Treason  and  periled  fame  and 
interest  in  the  cause  of  national  reform.  Washington 
invested  Freedom  with  every  attribute  that  could  win 
the  affection  of  the  citizen,  or  command  the  respect 
of  the  world.  Jackson  founded  our  national  policy  in 
immutable  principles  of  justice,  established  an  indisso 
luble  union  between  the  virtue  and  happiness  of  a  peo 
ple,  and  taught  the  rulers  of  the  earth  that  national 
good  faith  was  the  only  condition  on  which  the  peace 
of  the  world  could  remain  unbroken.  The  steady 
policy  of  Washington  was  never  shaken  by  the  turbu 
lence  of  Faction.  The  firm  administration  of  Jackson 
was  never  moved  by  the  hoarse  clamors  of  Avarice. — 
Both  were* lovers  of  fame,but  made  it  subordinate  to  the 
general  interests  of  humanity.  Both  were  endowed 
with  the  tumultuous  passions  that  always  accompany 
greatness  and  sometimes  mar  its  lustre.  Both  were 
free  from  those  petty  vices  that  often  disfigure  the  finest 
characters  in  history.  Washington,  like  the  sun,  rose 
amidst  a  chaos  of  jarring  states  and  discordant  inter 
ests,  and  all  moved  around  him  in  harmonious  con 
cert.  Jackson,  like  the  magnet,  drew  all  elements  to 
himself,  and  made  the  remotest  sections  of  the  repub 
lic  vibrate  to  a  central  attraction, which  drew  together 
and  united  in  one  bond  of  union  the  interests  and 
wishes,  the  patriotism  and  enthiftiasm  of  a  great  na 
tion. 


Both  were  influenced  by  a  permanent  and  op 
erative  principle  of  religion.  Jackson  always  ac 
knowledged  an  over-ruling  Power — Washington  never 


ots  and  died  like  men.  Washington,  in  his  day,  was 
first  in  war,  first  in  peace  andjlrst  in  the  hearts  of 
his  countrymen  —  Jackson  filled  the  measure  of  his 
country's  glory.  And  hereafter  the  true  American 
will  find  it  difficult  to  determine  whether  his  patriotic 
emotions  are  more  strongly  awakened  at  the  tomb  of 
Mount  Vernon,  or  the  grave  of  the  Hermitage. 

Let  me  take  a  last  view  of  him  whose  death  is  a  nation's 
bereavement.  Once  arraigned  before  an  earthly  tri 
bunal,  he  has  gone  to  the  higher  tribunal  of  the 
world.  There  nothing  will  be  extenuated,  or  aught 
set  down  in  malice;  and  whether  he  was  condemned 
for  an  act  of  duty  and  others  were  wrong,  God  will 
judge. 

He  sleeps  in  the  cold,  silent  grave.  Those  facul 
ties  which  have  been  so  long  and  so  successfully  ex 
erted  for  our  benefit,  are  quenched  in  death.  The 
strong  arm  that  defended  us  lies  mouldering  in  the 
dust.  The  tongue  is  mute  —  the  lips  are  sealed.  The 
eye  which  has  so  often  watched,  even  in  retirement, 
for  a  nation's  safety,  is  closed  forever. 

Do  you  ask  now,  if  this  man  of  so  chequered  a  life, 
was  without  a  fault?  That  I  will  not  answer.  The 
voice  of  censure  must  not  be  heard  at  the  grave.  — 
There  errors  are  forgotten  —  Revenge  is  satisfied  —  Re 
sentment  dies.  If  he  had  a  fault,  and  who  has  not, 
Charity,  with  her  mantle,  shall  cover  it.  If  there 
was  a  stain  upon  that  bright  escutcheon,  tears  such 
as  angels  weep  shall  blot  it  out.  In  dews  that  distil 
from  the  Heaven  where  Mercy  holds  her  seat,  the 
stain  shall  be  washed  away. 

Come  then,  Americana,  gather  around  the  grave  of 
your  hero.  Listen  to  its  sublime  teachings.  Treas 
ure  them  up  for  yourselves.  And  would  you  leave 
something  to  your  children  more  precious  than  riches, 
teach  them  the  example  of  Jackson.  Low  in  the 
grave,  beside  the  loved  and  lost,  his  mortal  remains 
decay.  But  in  his  life  and  in  his  death  there  is  a 
grandeur  that  defies  decay  —  there  is  a  beauty  which 
will  only  grow  more  beautiful  in  the  lapse  of  ages. 
Long  after  the  monumental  marble  shall  crumble  and 
the  cypress  that  shadows  his  rest  shall  fall,  History 
will  carry  the  bright  record  of  his  deeds  to  posterity, 
painting  and  sculpture  will  blazen  them  forth;  bards 
will  sing  them  to  other  times,  and  the  name  of  Jack 
son  will  be  revered,  even  in  those  distant  barbarous 


lands,  where  nothing  is  now  known  of  America  save 
the  name  of  Washington. 


Lithomount 
Pamphlet 

Binder 
Gay  lord  Bros. 
'          Makers 
Stockton,  Calif. 

PAT.  JAN.  21,  1908 


